Thalia Grace & The Ceryneian Hind
by WolfePony
Summary: [Set in-between The Lost Hero & The Last Olympian] Thalia Grace, Lieutenant to Artemis, daughter of Zeus, is pretty awesome. She's strong, fast, and pretty hot. She's got sick lightning powers, wind powers, wicked awesome with a bow, a sword, and a lance. One day she comes across a golden-horned deer, a beautiful daughter of Aphrodite and her annoying cousin, Percy Jackson.
1. I Ride a Boar

My life sucks. My entire day was ruined, even before demonic sharks tried to drown me. The morning went about relatively normal, well, as normal as it can when you're hunting a golden horned deer, when everything went south. I shouldn't really be surprised, demigods don't exactly have the best of luck, and my luck is legendarily bad.

I'll start at the beginning.

I was having a pretty rough time as I rode the Calydonian boar into New York from Maryland. I wasn't really sure what this boar was doing in Maryland to begin with, as far as I knew it didn't travel anywhere north of Texas but there it was sipping water from Magothy River without a care in the world. I dropped my espresso and stared slack-jawed at the casual boar.

It was a tiny bit bigger than the last boar I encountered a few years back, but that's like saying one tank is bigger than another. Its hide was blackish purple and rough with ancient scars and wounds. Its right eye was horribly scarred and blind and the tusks were worn out and chipped, it was the meanest looking giant boar I've ever seen.

After mumbling an apology to both Pan and the god of espressos I approached the boar, trying to ignore the very pungent scent of garbage rolled around in wet fur with a hint of skunk. If there's one thing those Greek myths fail to mention it's how horrible these monsters smell.

"What are you doing here?" I muttered, trying to remember the story behind this boar.

The Calydonian boar was this huge issue back in the day, I mean I could see why a giant, rampaging boar would be an issue. See the King of Calydon gave these annual ritual tributes to the Olympians but one year he forgot to mention Artemis in the tribute and Artemis got a bit pissed. Artemis sent the Calydonian boar to ravage the land, killing a bunch of people, until a band of heroes were dispatched to slay it.

Atalanta was the first one to wound the boar and when it was killed she was rewarded the hide as spoils of war. This pissed off all the guys who partook but they couldn't do much to argue the point, a bunch of sore losers, if you ask me.

"Okay, so Artemis sent you the first time around because she was pissed," I told the boar who gave me a curious look but went back to drinking the lake. "So, why would she send you again?"

Back in the old days the gods didn't mingle with mortals that much, not even Artemis to her Hunters. These days they were pretty lax about talking to us mere humans, but Artemis has been a bit quiet recently. It wouldn't be like her to send a cryptic message like this, unless she was in trouble.

I shook the thought out of my head. There was no way Artemis could get in trouble so easily without anyone else knowing. But then again, she _was_ kidnapped a while ago by a Titan. The idea still didn't make sense to me, perhaps this was a quest opportunity or something, but did she want me to hunt the boar?

Folding my arms, I frowned, unimpressed by the giant boar. His descriptions from the stories must've been exaggerated because he wasn't very scary. He was slow-moving, bloated, and a bit gassy. There must've been another reason, then, why he was in front of me now.

"What the…" The boar turned around and I could see something gold shining on his side. Moving closer to the boar I looked at his right side, there was golden bow and a quiver filled with silver-tipped arrows hanging off his matted fur.

Snatching the weapons off the boar, I scrutinized the bow. Inscribed into the ancient weapon, in magical bronze much less, was a name: Ἀταλάντη.

"Atalanta," I translated aloud, my weird brain automatically translating the ancient Greek name.

This was her bow! Man, girls back then even enjoyed their flashy accessories. But this made even less sense. Why would the Calydonian boar bring me the bow of the Hunter that killed him?

The boar grunted and tilted his head toward the small forest to the right. My mouth dropped as a golden-horned deer with bronze hooves stood there, grazing calmly, glanced at us then trotted away with the speed of a racecar.

"Crap…" I muttered. That was the Ceryneian Hind, another animal associated with Artemis. The Ceryneian Hind, or Cerynitis as her friends call her, was Artemis's sacred animal, apparently she was so fast she could outrun an arrow. All of Artemis's lieutenants hunted Cerynitis as a sort of initiation rite, if they failed… well, I don't want to find out.

Problem was, Hercules killed Cerynitis as part of his 12 labors, and apparently she still holds a grudge. She especially hates children of Zeus, lucky me, right?

Glancing at the Calydonian boar, the gears in my head were beginning to turn. The boar wasn't running away from me and he brought me Atalanta's bow and arrows, he's here to help, maybe he was fast enough to catch up to Cerynitis?

With a bit of trepidation I climbed on the boar's back, afraid he was gonna get upset and try to buck me off but the guy didn't really care.

"Alright, Cal, you mind if I call you Cal?" Cal grunted and passed a bit of gas that was probably a yes. "Cal, if you're here for the reason I think you are, then this will probably be a piece of cake. Are you fast enough to catch up to Cerynitis?"

Cal shifted slightly and farted again. Grinning, I patted his side. "Alright, let's go then!"

The last boar I rode wasn't nearly as comfortable, but Cal wasn't exactly a first-class either. It felt like riding a patch of gravel on a treadmill during an earthquake. But Cal covered some distance, the big gassy boar had me in New York in about ten minutes.

By the time we stopped, we were in Central Park. He stopped by the Bethesda fountain and shook me off, as if to say, "Alright, ride's over chump."

Getting back to my feet, I turned to thank Cal but the dude was already gone. Looking around the park, it was surprisingly empty for this time of day, there would at least be the stray hobo but it was completely empty.

That being said, finding a glowing, golden-horned hind was a lot harder than you'd think. I spent the next twenty minutes running all around Central Park looking for her. Nothing. Don't think I'm some mediocre hunter either, it takes more than a pretty face to become Artemis's lieutenant.

I sat there on Bethesda Fountain, plucking at Atalanta's bowstring sullenly. I wasn't one to feel sorry for myself but it's kinda frustrating being outwitted by a deer.

Just then, the stupid deer in question hopped right out of nowhere and landed ten feet in front of me with something of an indignant expression, as if she was impatient that I couldn't catch her.

"Fine, hold still then!" Drawing an arrow, I took a moment to aim and fired. By Cerynitis was even faster than I expected. In a golden blur she was gone and reappeared to my left. I drew another bow and fired but she just dodged that as well. I was about to notch another one but Cerynitis must've gotten impatient because she charged me and headbutted me right in the gut.

I flew back about five feet, feeling pretty awesome about myself. Rolling to my feet, I notched another arrow but the hind was gone. Turning a full circle, I searched for the elusive damnable hind.

"Come on! Don't be scared!" I yelled to her. "Why don't you fight me like a real, uh, deer!"

Cerynitis apparently didn't enjoy that challenge. In a blur of bronze and gold, my bow was snatched from me, thrown away from me, and before I could reach for it, I was knocked back violently. Shaking the stars from my vision, I rolled backwards in time to see Cerynitis try to stomp on my legs.

I lurched forward, tackling her legs and taking her down. But she was a squirrely immortal glowing hind and tried to shake me off.

I didn't think so.

I reached into my backpack, which was magically enchanted, mind you, and brought out a length of rope. Pinning her down, I tied Cerynitis's forelegs together. Suddenly, I was bucked right off, she got a clean shot at my gut. Thankfully, however, she knocked me closer to my bow.

Grabbing the golden bow, I quickly notched an arrow and shot it before Cerynitis could escape. It impacted her side but it wasn't enough to keep her down. She shook off the wound, escaped her bonds, and raced off into the woods.

Growling, I got to my feet and prepared to sprint after her but that's when the fountain exploded and I was introduced to my _second_ problem of that day.

A huge man-shark _thing_ appeared from the fountain. Its upper body was that of a man's but from the neck up he had a shark head, ink-black with blood-stained teeth. His lower body was that of a shark's fin as well but as he reached land it became a human's. His formerly black scales morphed into regular human legs with a black kilt-like thing.

Then the _problem_ actually showed up.

Right behind the shark-dude, he showed up. His tousled black hair was just as messy as I remembered it, his sea-green eyes were fixed with a fierce sort of determination, as if the shark-dude stole his lunch or something. And in his hand he held a familiar sword, a bronze leaf-shaped blade: _Riptide_.

Percy Jackson jumped right out of the fountain and charged the shark-dude.


	2. I Make Sushi

Percy Jackson was often described as some great hero, right? The amazing son of Poseidon, the demigod who saved Olympus from Kronos and his forces. The boy who friggin' lived after taking a dip in the River Styx, the greatest hero of all time! Me? Personally, I think he looks more like a dolphin than a hero.

Jumping out of the fountain, Percy flipped mid-air doing his best impersonation of a performing porpoise and landed in front of me. I rolled my eyes as he brandished his glowing bronze sword, Riptide. Percy's shaggy black hair was even messier but somehow seemed perfect as it glistened from the fountain, his black jacket and ragged jeans made him look a bit like a rockstar ready to go gladiator fighting.

The show-off.

"What in Hades are you doing?!" I shouted at him.

Percy looked over his shoulder and gave me a wry grin. "Oh, hey, Thalia. Nice to see you too."

Stomping up to the Seaweed Brain, I shoved him but it felt like pushing a refrigerator. "Idiot! I was chasing Cerynitis and you made me lose her!"

"Cer… who?" Percy blinked. Ugh, just like a Seaweed Brain.

A monstrous roar interrupted my train of thought. The manshark turned toward us, baring its massive jaw at us and expelling a powerful stinky wave of fish and chum. Percy and I just rolled our eyes, unimpressed by ugly over there.

"Shut up!" We shouted.

I raised my arm and stormclouds rapidly rolled in, thunder rumbling across the park. Lightning flashed in the sky and a moment later a huge bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck the manshark right in the chest, sending him flying backwards. The air smelled weirdly of iron and fried fish.

"Thanks," Percy said. "But I didn't _need_ help."

"You are _so_ annoying!" I groaned. "Why can't you be _normal_?"

"Coming from the immortal Barbie Huntress?"

Flicking my wrist, my hunting knife immediately appeared in my hand and I pressed it against his throat. "Call me Barbie one more time…"

"You _are_ wearing a tiara," he said.

Pointing at the silver circlet around my head, I growled. "_This_ is a symbol of power and rank amongst Artemis's ranks. You wouldn't know anything about that, Seaweed Brain."

"I'm sure it looks great with your boots," he countered with a smile.

I pressed my knife deeper but noticed that it was bending against his neck, not doing anything against him. "You think you're hot stuff because you're all invulnerable, huh?"

"Not really," Percy stepped back and I pocketed my knife. "But the invulnerability helps."

Ignoring him, I brushed the hair out of my eyes and peered around the forest. I tried to look for either Cal or Cerynitis but they were nowhere to be found. Cursing, I shouldered Atalanta's bow and began to head west, the world's fastest hind should probably leave tracks, right?

"What're you doing?" Percy asked, suddenly reappearing by my side.

"Hunting," I answered. "You wouldn't understand."

"To find Cerynitis?"

I nodded, trying to examine the ground but my little lightning bolt trick caused it to rain, washing away any tracks.

"I remember her," Percy said finally. "Remember a while back when Persephone tricked us and Nico to gather to help her? Cerynitis was the deer who led you to us, right?"

Oh that was a fun day. Persephone had tricked the three children of the Big Three, Percy, Nico and myself to gather together for a little quest. That was a pretty scary ordeal, to be honest. Kids of the Big Three are way stronger than your average demigod and you'll be lucky if you never meet one, but to have _three_ of them in the same spot? Woo, that's a recipe for disaster.

Luckily we survived and met a Titan named Bob, so that was kinda cool I guess.

"Yeah, but that wasn't the real one," I said. "Persephone conjured up a projection of Cerynitis to lure me. The _real_ one is a lot faster and kinda hates me."

"Wow, I can't think of why she would," Percy muttered.

"Hercules killed her," I said, ignoring his sarcasm. "And Cerynitis never got over that."

"So, why are you hunting her then? She steal your lunch or something?"

Rolling my eyes, I ducked behind a tree to avoid the rain. "It's a long story, I think it's a message from Artemis…" I wanted to tell him about Artemis being quiet lately but… something held me back. Instead, I said, "Why are you here anyways? I mean, I know you have a knack for getting into trouble but still, mansharks?"

Percy chuckled quietly, sheepishly scratching his head. "I was heading home when this satyr approached me. He told me that he found a demigod and that he needed help, so, I followed and found the sharks. They pushed me into the Hudson but when they found out they couldn't drown me, we just… teleported and I ended up here."

Sounds simple enough, glad to know that I wasn't the only one having a bad day. "Okay, so what about the demigod?"

"She should be alright," Percy promised. "They didn't seem too interested in her."

"Well, you _do_ smell like chum," I remarked. "They probably thought you were bait."

"Funny."

"I try sometimes."

The two of us walked around the park for a few more minutes, trying to look for any sign of Cerynitis but nothing came up. Cursing, I kicked the fountain bitterly and sat down. Percy joined me, thankfully he didn't try to reassure me by doing something stupid like hugging me.

I mean, Percy and I get along well, but we aren't exactly BFFs. Besides, I don't exactly socialize with boys that often considering my oath to be a Huntress forbids that. Percy is the exception, he's cool with Artemis and even if he wasn't we were friends before I joined her, so that ain't changing.

"You'll find her," Percy promised.

"Yeah? And how do you know?"

"Because you're stubborn."

"Wow, you're making me feel _so_ much better."

"Seriously," Percy said, grinning. "You're good. You wouldn't be Artemis's lieutenant if you weren't. You'll find her, that much I know."

Pulling off my lieutenant's charm, I fiddled with it for a moment. It was an honor to be Artemis's lieutenant but at the same time it was a burden. The last lieutenant was… amazing, how could I compare to her? To Zoë?

"About Artemis… Thing is, for the last few days she's been—"

The fountain exploded behind us, knocking me down. Percy yelled something that was lost in the huge tidal wave that followed. He jumped on top of me just as the water crashed down on us… but we were completely dry. Looking up, I noticed that the water didn't touch us at all, it split in half and spilled on either side of us.

Great, Percy saved my life, I'll never hear the end of that.

From the fountain came five more sharkdudes and they were pissed. Percy and I leapt to action, brandishing our respective weapons, Riptide and Atalanta's bow for me. Percy slashed the first two while I nocked three arrows and took the remaining ones out.

"I killed more," I told him.

"I saved you," Percy countered.

Before I could retort, more sharkdudes appeared and grabbed me before I could react. Percy slashed and hacked through the ranks but they came in the dozens. I tried to break free but they were too strong. Thunder rumbled as a painful tugging sensation filled my gut. The sharkdudes apparently knew what I was up to so they dragged me into the fountain and jumped right in.

I heard Percy yell behind me but it was too late, I was dragged into a swirling vortex of water. You know when you jump into a pool too hard and you get disorientated for a minute? And you're unsure of where up and down is? Yeah, imagine that feeling times about a hundred, throwing in a little spinning and add two giant sharkdudes pulling me down further and further, oh, _while_ beginning to drown, that's what I had to go through.

I tried to yell but all that came out were bubbles. I tried to push them off but my strength was useless when I was spinning around and around. I had to do something…

I focused, concentrating hard. I didn't like the ocean or pools or any body of water it was heavy and pressured down on me, like encasing me in a box I couldn't escape from. I was the daughter of Zeus, Artemis's lieutenant, I _wasn't_ going to drown.

A painful, tugging sensation filled my gut and although I thought it was impossible to conjure lightning down here, I tried. I could feel my entire body tingling with energy, it felt warm.. until it gradually became painfully hot, it felt like the sun was exploding inside my body.

Opening my eyes, I noticed that my entire body was glowing and the sharkdudes didn't like that. Grinning, I yelled a watery curse at them and exploded.

The next thing I knew I was being dragged faster and faster through an unseen current, like going down a waterslide except three times faster and infinitely scarier. Finally, I burst out into sunlight and landed hard on pavement. I heard a yelp beside me but I was too busy coughing up a lung to pay any attention.

A heavy coat was thrown over my back as someone tried desperately to dry me off, asking me a bunch of questions that only sounded like muffled whitenoise. I noticed my ears were still ringing, probably a side effect from going supernova.

I shook my head to get rid of the disorientation and took a moment for my ears to stop ringing, going deaf would suck. Looking at the person who was helping me, I blinked hard. She was pretty but looked really familiar, like… some famous movie star or something.

Before I could ask her who she was, I heard Percy chuckle behind me.

"Wow, nice trick there, Thalia," he said. "Going supernova there, pretty cool."

I gave Percy my best glare but he just smiled… still there was something in his expression that made me think he was a lot more intimidated than he let on.

Good, it was nice to know that I could still intimidate him.

"Yeah? Where the hell were you?"

"I was right behind you, but you had it handled."

"Nice to have superpowered best friends then."

Percy laughed. "Come on, let's get you dried up then we can head to camp."

After a few moments, I was all dry and warm and fuzzy but Percy insisted on moving. I didn't argue, Percy and I probably attracted every monster within a 50 mile radius, I'd rather not have the pleasure of meeting them for dinner.

He called his hellhound Mrs O'Leary (long story) and the three of us got on her and rode to camp in an instant. We popped out right in the middle of camp, scaring the pants off a son of Apollo.

Percy told the demigod girl to stay by Mrs O'Leary, she didn't argue but she didn't seem too comfortable to be standing next to a hellhound. I didn't really understand why, Mrs O'Leary was kinda cute to be honest.

After we managed to get a flaming shield out of Mrs O'Leary's mouth, I took Percy over to archery range.

"I helped you bring this girl here, but I've got to go," I told him. "I need to get on Cerynitis's trail again if I hope to find out what Artemis wants to tell me."

"I know," Percy said. "But stay, for one night, okay?"

"Wha-, why?"

"You look terrible."

"Gee, thanks."

But he was right, my clothes were torn and smelled like burnt fish, I felt like I was put through the spin cycle and thrown through an interdimensional water portal. I felt like I was ready to collapse right then and there. But I couldn't just… stay, Camp Half-Blood wasn't my home anymore. It felt like walking into an old childhood home only to find out that someone else lived there and moved everything around so it felt foreign and strange.

"I messed up your quest," Percy admitted. "The least I can do is help."

"I don't _need_ your help."

"I know." He held up his hands as if getting ready to defend himself. "But just consider it me settling a debt. You helped me, I help you."

I crossed my arms sullenly. I hated when he appealed to my sense of honor. "Well…"

"Hey guys," the girl jogged up to us with a frown. "Your, um, dog ran off into the forest carrying a tree… is that a problem or…"

"Great!" Percy said with a smile. "I'll handle that, Thalia will show you around. Thalia hasn't seen this place in a while, so you two can look around! I'll check up on you guys later."

"Wait, I never said—"

"Thanks, Thal!" Percy patted my shoulder and sprinted off.

Great.


	3. I Play Chaperon

As Percy left us, I fought the urge to strangle him. Don't get me wrong, I don't really mind meeting new people but I never felt very comfortable at Camp Half-Blood. The only real connection I had with Camp Half-Blood was Annabeth, and she isn't here. Now, when I looked at the camp, I thought of Luke.

Shaking my head, I turned to the young girl.

She was tall with an oriental complexion, a bit taller than me with long dark hair done in a simple ponytail. Even though she wore a simple red shirt with shorts, she had the good looks of a model. Her eyes were distracting, they changed colors as if they were as restless as her.

"What'd you say your name was again?" I asked.

The girl stiffened slightly, like I zapped her. "Drew Tanaka."

I nodded. "Who's your godly parent?"

Drew smiled proudly and puffed out her chest for effect. "Aphrodite. It shows, doesn't it?"

I frowned and looked away. Hunters and children of Aphrodite never got along, the fact that we swear off boys never played right with them for some reason. "Yeah, I guess. So, I guess I'll show you to your cabin. Normally, that's Annabeth's job but she's away."

"Annabeth?"

"Daughter of Athena. Nice girl, don't get on her bad side."

I led Drew into the camp grounds. Camp activities were starting up again so there were dozens upon dozens of half-bloods milling around. Most of these half-bloods were obviously new, they stared wide-eyed at the impossible camp before them. Pegasi flew around, children of Demeter willed flowers to bloom, Apollo's kids and Ares's kids were getting in another fight over which was better; bows or swords.

It was beautiful.

I'm not the sentimental type, but even I enjoyed looking at how the camp flourished. It made me miss the Hunters and I almost considered leaving to meet up with them. That is until the newbies noticed me.

A group of 12 year old half-bloods saw me and gaped as if I were a Seventh Wonder of the World.

I suppose they had a good reason to be star-struck. I was kinda awesome.

Their satyr, an older one called Phil, looked at me as if I were a million drachmas and ran up to me grabbing my hands. "Oh thank Dionysus! Here! Take the kids, show them around would'ya? Thanks!"

I tried to protest but he ran off so fast he left a dust trail.

Looking at the group of kids, I managed a weak smile. "So, who wants to see the pegasi stables?"

After calming down ten hyperactive kids, I led them to the stables as best I could. Every so often I had to pull them back from wandering about, one of them almost got caught in the Ares Cabin minefield and another set off the laser defenses from Hephaestus Cabin.

"So, who's your godly parent?" Drew asked with a brilliant smile.

"Cabin One." I pointed at the far end of the grounds where my cabin stood. It was a white marble building, Greek style, and it reminded me too much of a bank. I hated banks. "Zeus."

The kids gasped and even Drew had the grace to look impressed. "But that other guy, um, Percy said you haven't seen this place in a while. You don't stay here? I thought this was the safest place for half-gods."

"Half-blood is the official term," I corrected. "And yeah, I tend to do my own business. I don't drop by often, I'm only here because Percy dragged me back."

"So, you're a loner?"

I shook my head. "I'm a Hunter of Artemis. It's this band of girls that Artemis takes under her wing. She takes us hunting and we have our own adventures."

Drew pursed her lips for a moment. "Where are the other girls?"

"They _hate_ this place," I answered with a chuckle. "The Hunters don't get along with the campers, and the feeling is mutual."

"Why?"

I considered how to answer this. Drew is Aphrodite's kid, no doubt she wouldn't like the Hunters when I explain why. "In order to join up with the Hunters, you have to take a pledge with Artemis," I explained. "It involves swearing your loyalty with her, and forsaking boys. We aren't allowed to fall in love."

As expected, Drew frowned as if this was a foreign concept. "No dating? Seriously?"

"Artemis is a maiden goddess, she expects her followers to do that same. And anyways, the benefits outweigh it."

"Benefits?"

I grinned at her. "For starters, we're immortal."

"You're kidding."

I turned toward her, arms stretched outward. "No kidding. We never age, staying at the age we joined the Hunters forever. Well, at least until we're killed in battle or become smitten with boys."

Drew wrinkled her nose. "Really? That's so boring though!"

I shrugged, most girls wouldn't take to that idea so easily especially a daughter of Aphrodite. But it was a bit easier than you expected. It was sort of like those middle-aged women tired of men and swearing off them for a few weeks, expect ours is a permanent situation.

"So, you travel with a group of girls, hunting monsters with a maiden goddess. All the time?"

I nodded.

Drew looked at the group of children and quietly shooed them away. I was about to protest when she leaned in and whispered, "So, are you a lesbian then?"

I blanched. Normally, I'm good with questions like this since it comes up _every_ time I mention the Hunters. My on-the-fly response was something smart like, "No." but Drew caught me off-guard and I stumbled over my words.

Drew laughed, but it was sort of restrained as if she felt bad for embarrassing me. Finally, I regained my composure. "No. The Hunters are just… tired of romance and being let down by boys. That doesn't make us lesbians."

That was a half-truth, I wasn't lying though I'm _not_ a lesbian. It's just there's been a few _friendly _girls these days. See, sometimes we get recruits that only hang around for a week before going back to boys, but now there are girls who are more than enthusiastic about joining up with an all-girl team. Phoebe, one of my lieutenants, for example, is a bit too touchy-feely at times.

"What about Percy? You're friendly with him."

I laughed derisively. "Percy? He's different. I knew him _before_ I became a Hunter. He's cool."

What I didn't mention was the fact that despite how annoying and stupid he can be he was very reliable and… well, to me it felt like he's the only one that can relate to me.

Being a demigod is pretty bad to begin with, being a child of the Big Three is a hundred times worse. We're usually subject to life-ending prophecies and we've become so powerful and influential over the years that we're detrimental to the mortal world. World War two, for example, was just a slug-fest between a child of Zeus and Poseidon against a child of Hades.

Since World War Two, children of the Big Three aren't as common (usually). So, we're alone most of the time. That's pretty big for me. See, you look at other cabins like the Athena cabin and you've got plenty of other half-brothers and sisters to hang out with. But when you're a child of the Big Three, you're on your own. Set in your own league. Other demigods look at you differently, they expect you to be this heroic leader when all you want to do is curl up under your covers. They compare you to Hercules or Perseus and expect you to be like them, so you have to be confident, even if you don't feel it.

Only a child of the Big Three can understand that. Percy is the only one who knows what that feels like. He's the dude who defeated _Kronos_ for Hades's sake! He held up the sky and fought gods and Titans like nothing. No matter how many friends he can surround himself with, no one can understand how he feels.

Oh, what about Nico? He's kinda creepy, in an annoying-little-brother way, but yeah.

"Really?" Drew's eyes lit up and she hugged my free arm. "Thank goodness."

The act wasn't very weird for me, as I mentioned Phoebe was touchy-feely, but it was so sudden that I jumped from the contact. Drew giggled at my reaction. "So, why did you join the Hunters?"

Wrong subject.

One of my real reasons for joining the Hunters was because I was let down by the one guy I never thought would disappoint me. Luke.

I flashed Drew a glare so dark that sparks flew from my body, zapping her briefly. She jumped back and recoiled as if a dangerous animal bared their teeth at her, and given my reaction I can't say that isn't accurate.

My patented death glares were so scary that, as Percy put it, it looked like I could shoot a million volts out of my eyes.

I don't know about that, but I have been known to blow up light bulbs in my worst moods.

Anyway, I instantly felt bad when Drew back up that I toned down my glare. It was a lot harder than I thought, it took me a full ten seconds to calm down.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "Touchy subject. Let's just say, I have my reasons."

Drew held up her hands, as if in surrender. "Good enough for me."

That's when Percy jogged up to us, it was one of those rare times where I actually welcomed his presence. Only a Seaweed Brain could break the tension with that annoying smile of his.

"Hey, Thalia, capture the flag is up for tonight," he told me.

I rolled my eyes and glared at him, annoyingly enough he didn't flinch. "I told you Percy, I'm leaving tonight. I'm not playing capture the flag."

He smirked and folded his arms. "Oh, I see. Scared I'll beat you then?"

Sparks went off and the air smelled of ozone as I took a step forward. I was barely aware of Drew backing up as the air around Percy and I became charged with energy. "You think you're hot stuff huh?"

"Yeah."

"Taking a little swim in the Styx won't prevent you from getting your ass kicked by a girl, Seaweed Brain. Fine, I'll play, just to put you in your place."

Percy nodded and with his cocky grin he jogged off. It was only ten seconds later that I realized that the dork baited me into playing.

"_Di immortales…_"


	4. I Capture A Flag

I bit my lip to not laugh when Drew approached me in her Greek armor. She had accessorized her armor with pink and black charms pinned to her shoulder pieces. It looked Japanese, but I wasn't sure. She did up her hair in a nice ponytail tied with a golden band and pulled it back past her ears, so she looked like a Japanese pop star. She wore orange lipstick that went along with her Camp Half-Blood shirt, fashionable jeans, and pink warpaint.

She looked like a Barbie ready for war.

"You, uh, look good," I said as I redid her armor straps.

"It's hard to find anything that goes with bronze armor," she muttered. "So, Capture the Flag. Why am I getting the feeling that I'm not going to enjoy this?"

I looked over my team. Not much to be honest. I'd prefer my Hunters, but I'll take what I could get. We had Ares Cabin, along with Dionysus, Demeter, and Apollo Cabin. Percy's team had Athena, Hecate, Hermes, and Hephaestus cabins. He didn't have many battle-orientated cabins, but they had creativity and unorthodox battle styles.

The only one that seemed relatively helpful was Ares on my side.

Clarisse met my eyes and glared at me but didn't say anything. She had a hair-trigger temper and rarely gave anyone any respect, she liked to greet people by powerbombing them. But even she respected me. That was nice.

"It'll be a blast," I promised. "You can be on guard duty, don't worry princess, you won't break a nail."

Drew made a face that wasn't as effective with that pink warpaint. "I'll have you know that doing these nails wasn't an easy task, so protecting them is a lot more important than some silly flag."

"Understood princess," I said with a coy smile.

"Heroes!" Chiron bellowed as he galloped into the clearing. Our teams met up with him. I could see Percy with his entourage, his cocky smile made my skin buzz. Literally, sparks began to fly off my armor and my teammates gave me a wide berth. "Red team takes the west woods, blue the east woods. The creek is the boundary line, killing and maiming is not allowed under penalty of no dessert. Good hunting!"

I met eyes with Percy and gave him my deluxe "prepare-to-eat-sea-weed" glare and he returned it with a mocking bow.

Drew caught up to me as we made our way back to our flag. "Wait, was he serious about the maiming?"

"Yeah, no dessert," I answered.

"No, I meant—"

"I know what you meant," I laughed. "Don't worry, it only happens every decade or so. Doesn't matter, this camp has some of the best healers. You'll be fine."

Before she could say anything, I addressed our team. "Ares cabin, let's set up a perimeter twenty yards out. Take James and Orlando,"—I nodded toward two Apollo kids—"And set up a perch in the trees. If I know Percy, he's going to rush out."

The team shuffled nervously, I could tell they weren't exactly eager to take on Percy who was a one-man army. I glanced at my belt, a mace canister hung from it glittering mischievously in the moonlight. Ever since I joined the Hunters, I stopped using my original weapons, Aegis and my spear. I don't know, I felt like with the Hunters I found a new home and that those weapons were remnants of a broken past. I tried to distance myself from it, but I never threw them out, I always kept it.

Grabbing the mace canister, I pressed on the top and a familiar spear appeared in my hand. Its weight felt foreign for a moment, but I hefted the spear and it all came rushing back. Grinning, I was happy at the chance of using my old weapon. But that wasn't all, I tapped my bracelet and Aegis spiraled into existence.

A huge silver shield appeared in my arm, the leather grip bound across my arm. The horrible face of Medusa was imprinted into the front of the shield, it was a shield with so much power that demigods and monsters cowered before it. My entire team backed up and refused to look at the shield, I could practically see its aura. Personally, I've never seen the imprinted face myself or Medusa but I imagine it must be horrible if it gets everyone afraid of it. In fact, I wonder what would happen if Medusa saw Aegis.

"Percy might be the savior of Olympus and the guy who defeated Kronos, but you know what else he is? A Seaweed Brain about to get stomped on by blue team!" I raised my spear and let out a good battle cry, my team followed suit and I could see confidence rippling in my ranks. "He thinks his little invulnerability will help him when he's getting smacked down by me," I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "A well-placed lightning bolt can put a stop to that."

My team cheered but none dared to get closer to Aegis. "So, are we going to do this or what?!"

Another hurrah and they fanned out to their positions. I caught Drew's eyes and she grinned at me, it was kinda weird seeing an Aphrodite girl _excited_ for Capture the Flag.

I dove into the forest.

The two fastest Ares campers – Edward and Jamie – weren't able to keep up with me. Tough, I thought. I poured on the speed and made it across the forest easily. It was weird not seeing any Reds, I expected Percy to charge out there like we had, but so far I didn't see anyone.

Hiding behind a thicket, I scanned the forest. It was deadly quiet, save the roars and grumbles of nearby monsters, the chittering of the animals and the shooing the tree nymph was giving me. She popped right out of the grove and frowned at me.

"See any Red team members?" I tried to ask her.

She flashed a rude gesture and popped out of existence.

We advanced deeper into the forest, getting closer to Red base and my anxiety only increased the more we walked. There was _no one_ here. Was I walking into a trap? Seaweed Brain is good and all, but that strategy was something worthy of Athena, no demigod would have the patience needed to stay away from the fighting.

Wait, Percy had Athena cabin on his team.

I rolled just in time to see two Athena kids jump down swinging their swords at me. I swept their legs and easily knocked them down. Explosions tore through the forest, I heard screaming and metal clanging against metal.

Thankfully, a good majority of my team advanced once the fighting started, so, I had reinforcements. Bad news, Percy was nowhere to be found.

I got into a fight with two Hephaestus campers, but my experience made their effort completely moot. I side-stepped a strike, countered with a blow to the head from my spear. Tripping up the second one, I quickly disarmed him and knocked him out.

Explosions ran throughout the forest and I could hear the fighting intensify as the two teams met. Glancing up, I noticed Percy, finally, in-between two trees. He stood there with Riptide and his armor and it wasn't hard to know why he was so intimidating.

Two of my teammates attacked him and I yelled at them to back off but it was too late. Percy dodged the first strike and countered, knocking him down quickly, then ducked the second attack and smacked him with the flat of his blade.

My teammates crumbled to the ground and he didn't even break a sweat.

"Alright… come on then…" I stood, twirling my spear and held up my shield.

Percy winced slightly but continued to walk calmly toward me.

"Come on! Bring it!" I ran toward him and he broke out into a sprint. Percy had the higher ground so when he reached the end of his hill, he jumped, swinging his sword downward on me. I knelt, raising my shield to meet his strike.

Riptide came in contact with Aegis and a shockwave shook the entire forest. The fighting silenced for a moment as all eyes turned toward us. As Percy landed, I turned and stabbed at him with my spear but I only barely missed his ribs.

Percy tried to disarm me, keeping my lance between his sword and torso, but he wouldn't get it that easily. I swung my shield right into his face, giving him a kiss from Medusa and he recoiled only a step back. I stabbed again but he was fast enough to parry. Before he could counter a lightning bolt came from the sky and struck my lance and connecting with Percy.

He flew across the forest and toward the lake. I cursed as I tried to run toward him but Percy was already rolling to his feet and willed the entire lake to rise. He sent the torrents of water at me and I raised my shield in hopes to deflect it. Surprisingly the water never hit me. A massive gust of wind came from behind me and toward Percy, pushing the tidal wave away and throwing him off his feet and into the lake.

"Shit!" Percy rose from the water, 30 feet into the air as he was supported by a huge water tornado thing.

Raising my lance, lightning streaked across the sky, connecting with my weapon and flying out toward Percy with a million tendrils. The lake rose to defend him, absorbing each lightning strike with ease. I couldn't keep the fireworks display up forever, I was already feeling like I could pass out.

I concentrated, focusing all of the lightning into one blast. Then I aimed my lance at Percy and let that energy come out in one final burst. Percy wasn't fast enough to deflect the blast so he dropped out of the sky and rolled awkwardly as he landed on the pier.

Meeting him halfway, I swung my lance and attacked. Percy was an insanely good swordfighter, he _was_ trained by both Luke and Chiron so it was to be expected. I had more experience fighting and was taught by Artemis… but even I had trouble keeping Percy down.

We fought like a storm against a hurricane, lightning flashed and electricity sparked off our armor. Neither of us could get an edge in, we were at a stalemate… except Percy had the advantage. We were too close to his home territory.

Sparing a glance to my left, I noticed that his flag was still there… unguarded since my team had advanced so closely. No one would think to capture the flag while Percy was around… well, no one except me.

I just needed a shot.

Swinging my lance across Percy's neck, he ducked it easily, spinning around I stabbed at him again but he caught it with his sword. Before I could react, Percy leaned forward suddenly and gave me a powerful shove. Knocking me off my feet, Percy quickly got on top of me and pressed Riptide against my neck.

"Surrender?" he asked.

"In your dreams!" I kneed him in the gut and took my opportunity. Pushing him off me, I jumped to my feet kung-fu style but Percy was on his feet as well. I was weaponless and he had me cornered.

"I know how you fight, Thalia," Percy told me. "And now you're disarmed. Surrender."

"You don't know every move!" Spinning on my heel, I gave Percy a classic Karate kick, strong enough to throw him into the lake and spontaneous enough to catch him off-guard. "Yeah, visited Toyoko during my time with Artemis, should've mentioned."

I didn't stick around to exchange witty banter. Grabbing my shield and cursing the fact that my spear was thrown into the lake, I ran for the flag.

I snatched the flag and sprinted for my base. I heard the lake explode when I got about a quarter there, but I wasn't worried, if there was one thing I was it was _fast_.

I weaved in and out of fighting demigods, so fast that no one was able to tell I was carrying the flag until it was too late. They rallied before me, forming a wall to stop me from reaching my base but it wouldn't stop me.

I held up Aegis and the wall broke apart as everyone ran away from Medusa's horrible face. Those brave enough to stay behind had something scarier than Medusa to deal with. _Me_.

"Rahhh!" I roared at them and as expected they screamed and broke ranks.

It was an easy sprint back home where Drew and the others waited. They cheered as I brought in the flag, stabbing it into the ground. Drew laughed and tackle-hugged me, nearly killing me better than Percy could.

"T-thanks!" I managed to say.


	5. Roastin' Marshmallows

A bonfire was held after capture the flag. It seemed appropriate, you know, that a massive fire was started to celebrate my victory. Chiron made this big speech about the importance of teamwork and the magic of friendship, blah, blah, blah, I interrupted by conjuring lightning, setting the kindle on fire. That shut everyone up.

Chiron pulled me aside and welcomed me to the camp, he told me that Cabin One was available for me to sleep in and I found it hard to protest. Chiron was a nice dude, he taught me a lot since I returned from being a tree (long story). So, I just thanked him and moved on.

Everyone was celebrating, even the Ares cabin initiated a cease-fire with the rest of the cabins. It was such a weird view, to be honest. All of these cabins, a lot of them _new_ just join together and have a party as if nothing was wrong with the world at all. Ever since the Battle of Manhattan, everything seemed peaceful and nice. Monster attacks were relatively low, more and more demigods were being claimed every day, it was nice.

Drew found me by the Athena table. I was talking to Malcolm about Annabeth, apparently she went to Pennsylvania for a little bit leaving Percy alone. Percy seemed somewhat bothered by this but coped by helping around camp a lot. He was a legend around camp, and no one could blame him, he did save all of Olympus.

"Hey," Drew said with a small smile. She had changed from her armor and wore her camp clothes. A simple orange t-shirt with jeans torn at her knees and sneakers. It was simple but she managed to look like a superstar in them.

"Sup?" I looked away, finding it somewhat difficult to look into her eyes. They were alluring and… somewhat scary. I met Aphrodite once and it was almost impossible to focus on anything when she's around, Drew had the same aura.

"Hm, nothing much, you?" Drew sat down right next to me and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Nothing," I cleared my throat, staring at the bonfire. "You enjoying camp yet?"

Drew made a slight face and leaned back. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not exactly a camp-type girl but it's… nice."

I agreed. Camp Half-Blood was like a second home for me, it was just nice to have a place where you had people like you there. The real world… that's scary, I nearly fainted the first time I saw an iPod. This was easy to understand, easy to accept.

Maybe all demigods were more suitable to live in another era. Oh gods, I'm sounding like Annabeth.

"Made any friends?" I asked.

Drew looked over at the Aphrodite cabin, a bunch of super model girls and boys giggling amongst each other. Drew made a face and shook her head. "No, not exactly. Apparently, I don't really… fit in, you know?"

Frowning, I looked over Drew. She looked she would fit right in with the Aphrodite peeps, fashionable looks, pretty face, amazing smile… I shook my head. Whoa, where did that come from?

"Really?" I blinked, trying to get rid of the slight disorientation I felt. "You? I thought you'd be like the leader by now."

"They think I'm weird, you know for hanging out with you and playing capture the flag," Drew explained. "I mean, they think you're… well, an outcast, as a Hunter of Artemis."

I nodded, understanding that feeling and already knew how the Aphrodite folks felt about me and my ilk. Personally, I didn't really care how they felt about love or whatever. _They_ were the ones with the issue, not me.

"I'm used to it, but you? That's weird, last Aphrodite counselor was a real rough-and-tumble gal," I said. "You kinda remind me of her."

"_Was_? What happened to her?"

I sighed, cursing myself a bit for having to be the one to explain this. "I thought they would've told you by now."

"Told me what?"

"A little while ago, in fact, only weeks ago there was this war. The Second Titan War, the Battle of Manhattan. Camp Half-Blood went up against Kronos's forces to defend Olympus. We won but there were a lot of casualties. Selena was one of them, she was your counselor."

"How did she… I mean like…"

I looked at my hands for a moment, deciding how to go about this. Percy made everyone in Camp swear that Selena would be regarded as a hero despite her… well her little allegiance with Luke—Kronos, that is. But Drew deserved to know, right?

"She was killed by a drakon," I explained. "After she tricked the Ares cabin into coming to battle to end a feud they had with the Apollo cabin. She… she was working with the enemy but redeemed herself with her sacrifice."

Drew was silent for a moment and I felt a bit uncomfortable, unsure of what to say. Then, she looked up at me with those big eyes of her, that campfire made them look like miniature suns. "That doesn't happen often, right? I mean, I'm not a fighter like you or Percy, I'm just a daughter of Aphrodite."

I took her hand and stared straight into her eyes. "Demigods we… we don't exactly get happy endings, you know. Look at the stories, very rarely do any of them end up alive. It's pretty much our birthright as heroes. It sucks… but that's why we come here, to train and fight."

"What if I don't want to fight?" Drew asked. "I could just… leave right? To just go back to my normal life and live peacefully."

"It doesn't work like that," I said. "Now that you know what you are, _who_ you are, you'll be a monster magnet. You can't really have a normal life after this."

"Oh…" Drew looked down and I instantly felt guilty. I wasn't good with this whole pep-talk nonsense, I sucked at trying to cheer people up. You know what I did to cheer Annabeth up? I set my hair on fire, accidentally of course.

"But it doesn't mean that it's all bad," I told her. "You have friends here, comrades who have gone through the same thing! You can even start relationships here, like Percy and Annabeth or Connor and Katie."

"But… isn't that… weird? Like, aren't we all related to each other?"

I shook my head. "No, no. See, the gods don't have DNA, per se, so dating is totally a thing that you can do. Like an Ares kid and an Aphrodite kid, totally fine, but dating someone in your own cabin, that's a bit different."

"What about a daughter of Aphrodite and, oh, I dunno, a daughter of Zeus?" I instantly blanched as Drew leaned in closer to me. I could smell her Jasmine perfume and found it difficult to focus.

"Uh, well…" I tried to back away but Drew just moved closer. "You… Me? Why?"

Drew shrugged. "I dunno, something about that warrior princess thing that I like."

I shook my head, raising my hands. "No, no, you wouldn't want me. I'm not that great."

"You totally are, though."

"I have morning breath!"

"So do I."

"My hair is a nightmare to maintain."

"I have a hairbrush."

I stood up, backing away slowly but Drew just stood up as well. "Listen, I may have sworn off men but it doesn't mean I'm gay."

"What does that matter?" Drew asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Those _labels_ don't really matter, you know? Love is love is love regardless of gender. Mom would agree."

"Well.."

Drew stepped closer and I froze. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me that brilliant smile. "I know you like me, it's an Aphrodite thing. And I also know how much pain you feel, how lonely you are. You think I can't understand because I'm only a daughter of Aphrodite… but you're wrong. Falling in love isn't just about really liking someone, it's about _understanding_ someone and we can do that. We can see everything someone feels and we feel it too… To be honest, we're the ones who fall in love easily, not the other way around."

"Why me?" I asked, unable to look away from her eyes.

"Because you're hurting the most," she said. "I can see it…"

Unconsciously, I put my hands on her sides. "This isn't a trick?"

Drew smiled coyly. "Why would you think it is?"

"I know about Aphrodite cabin's rite of passage, they have to break someone's heart."

Drew shook her head. "Nah. Trust me."

She leaned in and kissed me and the whole world stopped. It felt like all of the burdens I held just melted away and all that mattered was right here and now. She broke the kiss and grinned at me.

"Okay…"


	6. I Spoon And Have Weird Dreams

Drew shifted in her sleep beside me. She hugged my chest a bit tighter and sighed. I couldn't really sleep. Cabin One thundered slightly, the bed was rock hard and just as cold and besides sleeping sucks for a demigod.

Drew and I were nude under our blankets, it was a rather… _eventful_ night for us. Oh, don't look at me like that. I didn't _use_ her or anything, but it was just… nice to have someone want you as much as she wanted me.

I'll admit it, I did sleep with a daughter of Aphrodite but it didn't break my oath. My oath said I can't fall in love with a _boy_, and I checked, Drew is most definitely a girl.

I wasn't really sure how Artemis would feel about me doing that anyways, so that's why we did it in Cabin One. I mean, if anyone would understand it'd be Dad, he wasn't exactly Mr Family Man, now was he?

Well… when Jason was born…

I shook my head, placing my hand on my forehead and tried to relax. I didn't want to go to sleep but if I expected to get up and hunt Cerynitis in the morning, I needed to be ready to go.

But dreaming was horrible for demigods, especially for me.

The thing about demigod dreams is that they aren't _normal_ dreams. Maybe mortals will dream of bunnies and have normal nightmares about things like an upcoming test or a mortifying speech, demigods aren't so lucky.

Artemis had explained once that our dreams are the result of our divine nature. The fact that we're half gods hardwired our consciousness for omnipresence, or at least a minor version of it. I didn't really understand it too much (thinking about that kind of stuff gives me a headache) but I've come to hate my dreams.

Sometimes we dreamt of the past, or the present, but nine times out of ten it wasn't pleasant.

I dreamt I was in Ancient Greece.

It may sound nice, taking a little trip down ancient history, but it was a _pain_!

I was at the base of a mountain, upon a million stars blazed barely covered by the inky black sky that rumbled. _Father_, I thought as I glanced up at the sky. As the daughter of Zeus, I wasn't afraid of lightning, but this didn't feel like an average storm, it felt like dad was pissed.

Looking around, I noticed strange warped trees flanking the dirt pathway, they glittered unnaturally in the dark. I looked down and noticed my ghostly body, flickering in and out of existence.

The scent of eucalyptus hit me and a sickening wave of nausea hit me as I realized where I was. The mountain wasn't familiar with me but the rolls of magic that cascaded down it was familiar, Titan magic. At the very top of the mountain, so high up that I shook from the sheer height, the storm collected there like a funnel.

This was Atlas's mountain.

Bad memories flooded my mind. Luke in his haggard form, Annabeth who looked like she was dragged to Hades and back, the horrible Titan and the army of Kronos that approached. I wanted to flee this place, I don't care that it was a memory or if it sounded cowardly, I wasn't the nostalgic type.

But I stayed, grounded against my will. I wanted to cry out but clammed up as soon as I saw him.

At first, I thought he was Percy. He had the same Mediterranean looks, dark skin, tousled black hair, a calm look of determination, he was even the same age as him! But I looked closer. It definitely _wasn't_ him. For one thing, this dude had bright blue eyes, it glowed with such power that I thought he was a god. His black hair was longer than Percy's, a little past his shoulders and he wore a long Greek tunic. His tunic was dark blue with a lightning bolt clasp.

With a start, I realized who it was.

Perseus, my half-brother, the son of Zeus.

"Are you sure they can be trusted?" I thought he was asking me because he turned right at me, but a flash of light lit up the world and a tall man materialized in front of me. I yelped, stepping away from him and I was glad that he couldn't see me.

His dark curly hair was matted down by his iron helmet which sprouted wings that fluttered anxiously, as if it couldn't wait to just take off. He wore a tunic like Perseus, but his was pure white. He also wore this really big cloak over his shoulders, what was it called? _Chlamys_. He floated in the air, levitated by his winged boots, and he clutched his staff, a caduceus, where his snakes wriggled.

Hermes frowned at Perseus and glanced up at the mountain. "Nymphs, unpredictable, but you can earn their trust easily, Perseus."

More memories flooded my mind. I rubbed my leg, remembering the wound I had sustained that forced Luke to bring us to his house where Hermes visited. Hermes looked so pained then and Luke was so angry…

I couldn't think about it.

Blinking, I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind. I felt bad for what happened to Luke, I did. I had as much influence over him as Annabeth did, maybe even a little more…

"But, the helm," Perseus said, shaking his head. "They can't possibly have it."

"One way to find out," Hermes said. "Polydectes is an impatient man."

Perseus glowered so darkly, I thought he was going to blast Hermes right there. Sparks flew from his body, like me when I got moody. Hermes only smiled coyly, like this was normal for him. "You could always go home, it's a dangerous quest anyways."

"No!" he snapped. "I can do it, even _if_ it's for that conniving villain."

A dark aura surrounded Perseus the more he got angry, even though I was in ghost form, it felt like I was standing next to a nuclear reaction ready to go off. Thunder rumbled above and more black clouds rolled in. It was then I realized that the storm wasn't Zeus's work, it was _Perseus_.

I felt dizzy. Perseus was only about a year older than Percy, but he was so powerful that he could influence the weather to this scale? My powers were pretty good, I'll admit, I can call down lightning bolts a bit easily and in my worst moods I could conjure the stray black cloud. But Perseus – my step-brother, not the other one – could produce storms of this scale?

Then again, ever since I joined the Hunters of Artemis, I stopped relying on my godly powers more and more.

It was weird to think that I was related to this guy. I mean, I know that Greek mythology is pretty, well, confusing with family ties. It was still weird to think I was technically Percy's cousin. But, it's still weird to know that I'm related to this powerful demigods like Perseus or Hercules.

A disturbing thought flashed in my head: Zeus, Hera, Hercules and I at Thanksgiving dinner.

Hermes nodded, as if he understood Perseus's plight. "Then be quick about it, your deadline approaches."

I tried to recall Perseus's stories. I was pretty good at remembering Greek myths and all (a lot better than Percy) but keeping track off so many heroes was complicated. Before I could properly pin down what quest this was, Perseus already started up the mountain and dragged me along. Literally, it was like I was tethered to him because I couldn't float away.

When he reached the mountain, the path widened into an impossibly large field. Dense fog obscured everything but I could still make everything out. Beautiful plants and trees surrounded us, a quiet song, like a hymn, echoed all around us in Ancient Greek. The sweet smell of apples hit me, along with the acidic scent of dragon breath.

In front of Perseus, blocking the path up the mountain, was the golden apple tree.

He was about to step forward when a brilliant golden light interrupted him. When the light faded, a woman in golden battle armor appeared. Her stormy-gray eyes flickered with power and even though she didn't have Aegis I knew who she was.

Annabeth's mom, Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

Without warning, my dream was torn apart and I woke up.


	7. I Skip Breakfast and Argue

I woke up with a start. Breathing heavily, I tried to steady myself, but my heart was pounding like crazy. My body was pretty sweaty despite wearing nothing at all and I felt like I just ran a marathon.

So, it pretty much how I felt last night with Drew. I looked over to where Drew was but the bed was empty.

I know what you guys are thinking. Oh, the daughter of Zeus who happens to be the Lieutenant for Artemis sleeping with a daughter of Aphrodite? _Scandalous_! It isn't like that. This isn't some… one-night stand or whatever, not that I can exactly see myself in a relationship with Drew or whatever…

Ugh, it's _complicated_, okay? Honestly, I wouldn't really _mind_ being with Drew but… Well, look, the point is that these silly little _labels_ don't really matter to me. It's dumb. I dunno, ever since I was with Drew I can just sorta understand her point of view. Lesbian, gay, straight, whatever, it doesn't matter. Love is universal, regardless of gender, really.

Honestly, look at Dad or _any_ of the Greek gods, they all got around really.

I don't know why I'm justifying myself to you, to begin with. I don't really care what you'd think.

Anyways.

I looked over to the other side of the cabin, where this big statue of Zeus stood all imposing and scary. He was pure white marble with a Greek-style toga, a bushy beard, and laurels on his head and carried a giant lightning bolt. Honestly, he looked like a big hippy with the beard, like, _Respect the trees or feel my lightning bolt_.

But Drew was standing in front of the statue, half-naked and looking great as always. She wore my death-to-Barbie t-shirt and my black combat boots, something that was weirdly arousing to the point where I had to focus on her face to concentrate.

Drew looked focused, glaring at Zeus as if challenging him. Although he was just a statue, even I knew not to glare at Zeus like that. But Drew just stood there, unimpressed by my hippie dad, crossing her arms and glaring at him like saying, "I slept with your daughter? Got a problem?"

Weirdly hot, if you ask me.

"Drew?" I asked.

She turned to me and smiled so brightly I couldn't help but smile along with her.

"Oh, hey, sorry, did I wake you up?" Drew brushed her hair behind her ear and I couldn't help but be enamored by the tiny act. I shook my head, maybe it was her Aphrodite magic affecting me… but to be honest, I didn't mind.

"No, it's fine," I said, standing up, I looked for my shorts but couldn't find it anywhere. "Hey, do you know where my shorts went?"

Drew giggled, shaking her head and staring at me. I wasn't particularly embarrassed about being naked in front of other girls (it doesn't happen _all_ the time with the Hunters but from time to time it'll happen) but I felt a tinsey bit self-conscious that she was staring.

"Oh, are these it?" Drew pointed up at another statue of Zeus near my bed. As she said in his outstretched hands laid my shorts but that's not all, draped over his shoulder were my panties.

"I wonder how that got there," I muttered, beginning to climb the statue to get my undergarments.

"Well, you were awfully enthusiastic last night," Drew offered with a coy smile.

I slipped on my shorts, pulled over a simple t-shirt and brushed my hair back. Normally I didn't really care how I looked but around this girl I was a lot more self-conscious than normal. It was an annoying feeling, like sumo wrestlers fighting in my stomach and my brain getting zapped whenever I looked at her.

"To be fair, you did sorta jump me," I countered.

Drew giggled some more, making my toes tingled, and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Well, to be fair, _you_ bit me."

She kissed me and I couldn't help but see the world in shades of pink, like I was wearing hippie sunglasses.

"Wanna get breakfast?"

Within five minutes, Drew and I were dressed and all ready to go. She even helped me with my make-up which was usually done magically but she worked faster than magic, she even promised me it couldn't be removed unless I cry; it must be her lovey-dovey magic, or something.

When we left the cabin, I had to make sure no one had spotted us. No telling what would friggin' happen if someone saw a daughter of Aphrodite leaving Cabin One, the rumors here spread faster than wildfire, the tree naiads gossip like crazy.

But Drew just sauntered out of the cabin without a care in the world. With her usual swagger, she just smiled at me and headed immediately to the dining pavilion. I wasn't sure if either _wanted_ people to know about our little night or just didn't care either way what anyone thought. To be honest, I was hoping for the latter.

Getting breakfast was a breeze when you're a daughter of Zeus. I mean, I don't bully people, mind you, I'm usually very nice to the campers (except the boys, of course) but everyone parted in front of me like I was carrying Aegis. I guess they were still abuzz with my total victory over Seaweed Brain.

Speaking of him…

Percy Jackson sat at his table eating blue eggs with bacon and toast like the dork he is. He looked at me and offered me a quick grin, I just frowned and turned back to my table. Sitting down with my spicy omelet and waffles, I grabbed an empty goblet and thought of my favorite drink: French vanilla cappuccino.

The drink bitterly reminded me of home, mom drank this all the time when she wasn't completely smashed. It was the one time when we were actually a family and not arguing all the time…

My train of thought was interrupted when a hand suddenly grabbed mine. I looked up to see Drew's pouting face pointed at me. She squeezed my hand. "You okay?"

"Drew!" I said in a hushed tone. "You aren't supposed to be here."

I looked around and already hushed whispers spread throughout the pavilion as _everyone_ began staring at us. Even the Ares table turned their ugly mugs at us to chuckle under their breaths, but not even they would have the guts to say anything about me.

"You're supposed to sit with your cabin," I told her, looking for Chiron but by some stroke of luck, he wasn't here.

"I know, but I wanted to sit with you," Drew explained.

"But, the camp rules are—"

"Well, why do you care?" Drew interrupted. "You aren't exactly a camper, you know? You're a hunter!"

She's right, why was I so panicked about this? Normally, I wouldn't even give a crap about this. "Yeah, but you are. Penalty for this is dishwork with the harpies."

"What's so bad about—"

"They'll eat you if you're slow."

"Oh… that'll suck."

"Yeah."

"Fine," Drew stood up, still holding my hand. "But those girls are boring! They keep giggling about movie stars like Tristan McLean. Like, color me uninterested." She did a perfect imitation of a valley girl which made me laugh a bit.

I stood up too and took her other hand. "Then change it."

"What?"

"Become a counselor," I told her. "Since Silena, they haven't had a counselor, no one wants to step up. You can step up and change it, make it something better and be strong, you totally got it!"

Drew looked a bit uncomfortable but she nodded. "Okay, I will. You have to go, right? Hunting your deer, right?"

I nodded. "If it leads me to Artemis… anyways, yeah, I've got to go."

"And I guess I can't come?" Her crazy kaleidoscope eyes resembled glass, ready to crack.

"It might be dangerous, I wouldn't want you getting hurt."

Drew stayed quiet for a few seconds which broke my heart. I was about to say something comforting when she leaned in quickly and stole another kiss. I was so stunned I didn't even hear the loud gasps rippling throughout the campers.

When she broke it, she gave me a wink. "Good luck charm. See ya later, Thalia Grace."

I wasn't even sure how she got my last name but before I could ask, she skipped off to the Aphrodite table where she met a bunch of appalled faces but ignored them as usual.

When I remembered how my legs worked, I ran off from the pavilion, not really that hungry and headed for the camp entrance.

By the time I reached my tree (long story) Percy had caught up. "Hey!" he called. I huffed and turned around.

Percy was dressed to go. He wore his normal camp attire but over his shoulder was a backpack, probably filled with gross snacks or whatever. "Heading off so early?"

I wasn't sure if Percy saw the kiss, I tried to read it in his expression but his sea-green eyes were just as hard to understand as the endless ocean. "I told you, Seaweed Brain, I'm outta, the trail is nearly cold. I've lost too much time."

"Right. So, where we heading?"

_We_?

"Uh, what?"

"I told you, Sparky." _Sparky?_ "I'm helping out, it's only fair. I made you lose the Sirius Hynd."

"Ceryneian," I corrected.

"That too."

"And I told _you_, I don't need help. Especially not from a boy." I turned to leave but Percy grabbed my shoulder. The action startled me so much that I spun and jumped.

"Thalia, what's your deal?" he demanded.

"What the hell is _your_ deal?"

"I'm _trying_ to help!"

"Bang-up job so far, Percy!"

"Listen, if you have some kind of issue with me—"

"Why would _anyone_ have an issue with you?!" I stormed up to his face, but the dork was a little taller than me. "You're the great Percy Jackson, savior of friggin' Olympus! The boy who lived didn't get as much publicity as you did!"

"And that's why you're mad at me all of a sudden? I thought we were friends!"

I stepped back. "W-wha—we _are_ Seaweed Brain!"

"Then why have you been pissy with me lately? You're acting like a complete bi—"

"Finish that sentence, I _dare_ you."

Percy took a deep breath. "I thought we were cool, I'm just trying to help but you're acting as if… you hate me…"

Percy's sea-green eyes became so sad, like a seal asking for another fish. I resisted the urge to make him do a back-flip. Instead, I stepped in and quickly hugged him, startling him so much he didn't even hug back until a few seconds in.

"Idiot, you might be a Seaweed Brain, but I can't _hate _you," I grumbled, realizing how much Percy smelled of the sea. I had bad memories of the sea. Sea gulls, stinky water, gross sand. But Percy was like the good side of the sea, glittering water, perfect sand…

"So, you admit you like me?" Percy asked, I could practically hear his smile.

I pushed him away. "Just a bit."

Percy grinned. "I'll take it. So… where are we headed then?"

I groaned, thinking about this stupid plan. "We'll need to meet Arty."


	8. We Meet A Cow

We Go See Arty

I pulled Percy back to keep him from stepping on yet another trap. Percy muttered a curse, staring down at the weighted Celestial bronze net on the ground. "Thanks," he said.

Nodding, I scanned the area for the 15th time for more traps. The forest was riddled with traps of all kind, ranging from simple bear traps (meant for drakons) to heat-seeking lasers. Arty was a relatively paranoid dude, which all things considered wasn't the sucky part. The _sucky_ part was that he was a god.

We ducked behind a tree, I spotted an acid vat hung on the branches of the tree opposite us. "What's with the traps?" Percy asked.

"Arty is a bit paranoid," I explained. "This isn't as bad as last time though. _Last_ time, he had giant polar bears wielding spears and machine guns."

"Who _is_ he?" he asked. "Why are we asking this dude for hunting advice? I thought you were good?"

I nearly strangled Percy for that comment, but I took a deep breath to relax. "Cerynitis is probably the fastest thing I can hunt. It doesn't help that she hates children of Zeus. We just need something from Arty."

"What could we possibly need from him that's worth this?" Percy demanded. I pushed him down to a crouch and held my hand over his mouth.

"Your head is full of kelp!" I cursed. "Keep your voice down, idiot!"

Percy pushed my hand away and scowled. "Can you see him then?"

I peaked from behind the tree to look at the tiny cabin about 20 feet in front of us. It was old, ragged and dirty. From out here it looked abandoned but I could see the silhouette of a person in the window watching TV, it seemed.

"Yeah, I can see him through the window," I relayed, moving over so Percy could get a look.

"Thought he'd be taller," he muttered.

I kept my comments to myself. With gods and goddesses they can pretty much look however they want to, Hestia and Artemis, for example, can appear as young girls. I know Aphrodite can appear your closest image to perfect beauty (though she seems to come up as Annabeth to me, all the time). So, Arty looking like this doesn't surprise me, his true form, his godly form, is a lot more dangerous to look at.

"So, here's the deal. I'll go in through the back and you charge in," I told Percy, to which he returned with a frown.

"Why do I have to go in through the front door?" he asked.

"My skin isn't made of iron," I reminded him. "Good luck tanking, bro."

He muttered something about being happy on having super-powered friends but didn't complain. I brandished my bow and prepared myself. Arty was a damn good archer (not as good as Artemis, of course) so I'll probably only have one good shot on him before he'll kill me.

"Alright, on three," I said. "One, two…"

With impossible precision, an arrow caught the sleeve on my right arm and pinned it perfectly against the tree. Before Percy could react another arrow zipped past his legs with ropes tied to them, snaring his ankles together and sending him to the ground.

"Three." I looked up and saw Arty crouching high on the tree branch. He looked as he always did, maniac. His bright golden eyes looked crazed and sleep-deprived, his clothing was, as usual, a mess. Arty wore combat fatigues that were worn out and torn in a million different places. He had outdoorsy good looks, handsome enough face but his hair was wild and his beard was shaggy, he looked almost exactly like Apollo if he went crazy and bunkered down with assault rifles.

"Aristaeus," I grumbled, trying to remove the arrow. "Let us go!"

"Who sent you?" he asked, notching another arrow no doubt aimed at my forehead.

"Idiot! You _know_ me! I met you last summer, remember? I tried to enlist your help in the Titan War, lot of good you were…"

"I think I'd remember someone as loud-mouthed as you," he replied coolly.

"You're telling me," Percy grumbled.

"Go to hell," I told Percy. "Arty, it's me, Thalia Grace. I'm Artemis's Lieutenant."

Arty paused for a moment either thinking about it or thinking about how I'd look pinned up on his wall. He lowered his bow for a moment before quickly raising it to aim at Percy. "What about him? I can smell the Curse of Achilles on him."

"That's probably the kelp," I answered.

"I'm Percy Jackson," Percy said, shooting a glare at me. "Son of—"

"Poseidon…" Arty muttered, lowering his bow. "The demigod who killed Kronos…"

"He also talks in his sleep," I mentioned.

"Thalia…"

"And sleeps with a teddy bear."

"Not helping!"

Arty jumped down from the tree and calmly approached us. He put away his bow and brandished a small knife, which didn't make me feel anymore safe, but used it to cut our binds and remove the arrow holding me.

"I'd rather not get turned into plankton for trying to off Poseidon's kid," Arty told us. "Oh and offing a daughter of Zeus wouldn't help either. Getting Granddad _and_ Aunty on me isn't something I'd enjoy."

"Thanks," I muttered, happy to know that it's only my dad's rep that kept me alive.

"What do you need then?"

Aristaeus took us to his cabin which was bigger on the inside, probably the same magic used to in our tents was applied here, it was a little disorientating but I managed not to get vertigo. On the inside it looked like an ancient Greek temple. White marble lined the walls and floors, old busts of Greek gods and goddesses stood on pedestal. It reminded me of Cabin One, minus the pasture.

There were little tufts of grass that stuck out from the marble floors and cows calmly walked around, grazing occasionally. Thing is, these cows were twice as big and were perfectly bronze so they looked like automatons, except when they mooed. In one corner of the room there were giant bronze beehives with like a million bees buzzing around it, when Arty entered, the bees surrounded him and nested on his beard.

Weird.

"Uh, what's with the cows?" Percy asked.

I almost punched him for asking, but Arty's eyes lit up and he grabbed Percy by the shoulder, leading him to the cows. "I oversee most of the dairy and cheese production in the east coast, these guys are my prized cattle! I got them from Geryon after my _first_ cows were sacrificed to Zeus." He looked at me like, _Can you believe it?_

"This is Betsy." He pointed at an unassuming, unremarkable bronze cow. "This is Jacob." He pointed at a cow that looked exactly like Betsy. "And this is—"

"Okay, fantastic! I'm sure Percy would be so interesting in your cattle, but we're on a schedule," I interrupted. If you didn't stop Arty, he'd go on rambling about bee-keeping and cheese-making, going on about how honorable of a job it is but really it smelled and stung.

Arty frowned and the bees in his beard buzzed angrily. "Fine," he said, letting Percy go. Percy gave me a grateful look and I just gave him a look like, _It's fine, you just owe me_.

"So, what do you need, Thalia?" Arty asked, going over to the beehives to tend to them.

I didn't follow him to the hives, I wasn't very comfortable around bees, they freaked me out. "I'm looking for the Ceryneian Hind," I told him. "I lost her a while back and I was hoping you could help, being a god of hunting."

Arty waved a dismissive hand, shooting me a disgusted look. "Ugh, hunting? You still do that?"

"Yes…"

"Try bee-keeping, Thalia, it was very soothing."

"Arty…"

"Or cheese-making!"

I slammed my hand on a table nearby, spilling a jar of honey on the floor. Betsy began licking up the honey. "Arty, I need to hind Cerynitis. It's a message from Artemis, I haven't heard from her recently and if this can help me get into contact…"

Arty turned to look at me and his eyes widened when he noticed the bow over my shoulder. "Is that Atalanta's bow?!"

I instinctively grabbed the bow, as if afraid of losing it, but nodded. "Yeah, I think Artemis gave it to me to help, but I can't get close enough to use it on Cerynitis."

"A bow won't work," Arty said.

"What—"

"Cerynitis can outrun arrows," he explained. "You probably already witnessed it. When Hercules captured her, he used a trap while she was sleeping."

"And how exactly are we going to find her asleep?" Percy asked.

"Not my problem," Arty said. He walked over to a large cabinet and fished through it for a while. After a minute, he pulled out a large, weighted net made out of bronze rope. "Here." He handed it to me and it was surprisingly light. "You can use this to snare her."

"Wait, but how are we gonna find her?!" I asked.

"Again, not my problem!" Arty snapped his fingers and the world around me disappeared. When I blinked, Percy and I were standing in the middle of the forest, no sight of Arty's cabin anywhere.

"Mother—"


End file.
